Tinnitus represents one of the most common and distressing otologic problems, and it causes various somatic and psychological disorders that interfere with the quality of life. This study aimed to compare the outcome of music therapy, tinnitus maskers and pharmacotherapy on patients with chronic tinnitus, to observe and analyse the etiological factors of tinnitus and to find out whether music can be used as an active listening mode by which tinnitus perception can be decreased. This was a comparative longitudinal study involving 90 patients with chronic tinnitus who were randomly assigned to 3 groups of 30 each: Group A (Music therapy), Group B (Pharmacotherapy) and Group C (Tinnitus masker). After a detailed clinical history and examination, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Visual Analogue Scores were recorded both prior to and following therapy, and patient were followed up monthly up to 2 months. There is a significant difference in the mean THI score (p = 0.002) and mean VAS(p = 0.0006) at 2 months follow up in patients treated with Music therapy and patients had a satisfactory outcome after music therapy and did not require any further treatment. Patients in pharmacotherapy and hearing aid group had a good clinical improvement but mean THI and mean VAS score was not statically significant. It was also noticed that loud noise exposure and hypertension were main etiological factors in 37.77% and 26% of patients respectively. Music therapy appears to be an effective and cost-efficient mode of therapy for chronic tinnitus and could be suitable for widespread implementation for patients with tinnitus of varying severity. Pharmacotherapy and hearing aid application in the treatment of tinnitus has good outcome in our study but requires long term treatment and follow up.

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OBJECTIVE. This study aimed to analyse the association of absolute eosinophil count (AEC), serum IgE and spirometry with co-morbid bronchial asthma in patients with allergic rhinitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS. This study involved 50 patients with signs and symptoms of allergic rhinitis who underwent a clinical examination and various tests, including spirometry, and were followed up regularly. Patients found to have bronchial asthma or nasal polyposis were treated accordingly. RESULTS. The study found the prevalence of bronchial asthma in patients with allergic rhinitis to be 58% and that the severity of bronchial asthma was reduced significantly, with lesser acute attacks and reduced hospitalizations with the effective treatment of allergic rhinitis (p=0.064). CONCLUSION. This study showed that elevated AEC and serum IgE were significantly associated with co-existing allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma and increased the chance of co-existence of these two pathologies. Spirometry is a useful tool for observing the response to treatment.

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> This study aimed to compare the efficacy of temporalis fascia and tragal perichondrium grafts in myringoplasty and to assess the hearing improvement following surgery.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a clinical prospective study involving 50 patients of chronic suppurative otitis media inactive mucosal disease who were assigned to two groups. Group I was temporalis fascia group and group II was tragal perichondrium group and subsequently underwent myringoplasty. Patients were followed up at 3 and 6 months.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> There was a preponderance of ear disease among children, with a male to female ratio of 1:1.63. Preoperative dry ear for 1-6 months was associated with 82.9% success rate (group I 76.5%, group II 87.5%). Patients with cellular mastoids were associated with 100% success rate.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> In this study we found that patients with cellular mastoids and dry ear for 1-6 months were associated with higher success rates. The study also revealed that in terms of hearing gain postoperatively, the temporalis fascia graft fared slightly better than the tragal perichondrium graft. Tragal perichondrium and temporalis fascia grafts appear to have almost similar graft take rates.</p>